Brussels, Belgium – On 30 May 2022, the European Utilities Telecom Council (EUTC) and the European Energy Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (EE-ISAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aiming to reinforce the cyber resilience of critical infrastructures in Europe. and practices.
With this Agreement of Cooperation, EUTC and EE-ISAC demonstrate their commitment to exchanging information related to cyber threats, and reports of intrusion events, as well as sharing best practices for protecting sensitive information and identifying critical asset classes and methodologies.
EE-ISAC is the result of multidisciplinary cooperation reached in Europe by private operators, service providers, academia and (non-) governmental agencies, with the mission of strengthening resilience through information sharing within a community of over 30 members. Activities include sharing information on the evolution of the threat to energy infrastructures and sharing of best practices and innovative initiatives in the context of the protection of networks, industrial systems and operational technology.
“We strongly believe that this new connection represents a valuable opportunity to reinforce the cyber security network in Europe as a whole”
Massimo Rocca, Interim Chairman of EE-ISAC
EUTC is a non-profit association, which concentrates on 6 areas of expertise which range from Smart Grid, Telecom & Utilities, Digitalisation further to Cybersecurity. Within this field, they not only research and contribute to the latest trends, but also actively interact directly with the ever-changing energy grid field users. These include the vendor supply chain, the utility community itself, and the regulators at the national as well as EU level.
“ This is a key opportunity for developing joint approaches to the ever-evolving cyber security challenges which we all face. EUTC members operate systems classed as critical infrastructure and as such have the highest levels of physical and cyber security in place. However, as EU utilities work to decarbonise and digitalise the energy sector to meet the UN climate change objectives, the attack surface in their networks expands significantly. The interconnected nature of telecommunications and energy supply has never been more apparent and impacts every aspect of our daily lives – making resilience and security essential at every level.”
Julian Stafford, Secretary General of EUTC
The Partnership, therefore, offers the two organisations the opportunity to further strengthen their common interest in attaining further reliability and security of electric power systems. Together, EUTC and EE-ISAC allow sharing information between more than 40 stakeholder groups by therefore enhancing the organisations’ cyber security posture.
###
About EE-ISAC
European Energy Information Sharing & Analysis Centre is an industry-driven, information sharing network of trust. Private utilities, solution providers and (semi)public institutions such as academia, governmental and non-profit organizations share valuable information on cyber security and cyber resilience in the European Energy industry.
For more information, please visit www.ee-isac.eu. For media inquiries, please contact contact@ee-isac.eu.
